Imperial Player Characters
We're delighted you're considering an Imperial player-character! The purpose of this page is to help you craft a character to tell the kind of stories you want experience in your time here on Star Wars MUSH. There are of course many ways to achieve this, and we believe that following this method will produce the best results. In addition to the suggestions included here, any Imperial Recruiter will be pleased to discuss your ideas and help you to define your character. In fact, we strongly recommend it; this will give us a chance to get to know your character, the kind of roleplay you'd like to experience and provide you with connections to the faction and metaplot. You may even wish to consider an introduction plot. Concept A good character is one who excites you - something that fires your imagination. that after all is the factory from which roleplay is produced. So, start there. What images spring to mind when you think about a playing an Imperial character? Does a scene play out in your imagination? Are there characters in the Star Wars universe, or other media, which inspire you? Your concept need not be terribly detailed. A mere idea is enough to work with, the process will help to refine it. The Branches After conceiving of a concept, and the idioms you'd like to explore, its a good idea to look at where that concept might fit. The Galactic Empire is vast, with branches, divisions and bureaus beyond counting. By their nature, player characters are extraordinary individuals whose experience of the galaxy is far from mundane. To that end, all Imperial player characters hold positions of seniority, authority and importance. In an effort to ensure that you have plenty of potential partners and have plenty in common to roleplay about, we have chosen to focus player characters into the following branches: Imperial Navy The Imperial Navy offers player characters the most direct access to one thing; power. Player characters are senior or commanding officers of some of the most powerful warships in the galaxy, responsible for tens of thousands of lives. As a career advances, a naval officer may ultimately find themselves controlling entire fleets, prosecuting whole campaigns or ruling portions of the galaxy in the Emperor's name. Players will have the opportunity to take part in epic space battles, strategize at the highest levels and engage in treacherous politicking for position. Stormtrooper Legions The Stormtrooper Legions are the Emperor's elite, private army. They're reminders of his authority, the final solution to treason and the shock troops of the Galactic Empire. Entrusted with the most dangerous and critical missions, glory is the most abundant reward. Player characters are front-line officers of the most feared military force in the galaxy, ideally placed to experience the grit and splendour of galactic war - players will have the opportunity to storm rebel fortresses, seize enemy vessels and become better acquainted than most would ever wish with the terrifying power of the Dark Side of the Force. Imperial Security Bureau The Imperial Security Bureau are the secret police, the chief enforcers of the New Order and Imperial Law. Wading waist deep in the dirty-laundry and messes of others may not be glamorous work - and if you do your job right, few will ever know that there was a problem in the first place - but it is essential. The ISB ensures that the wheels of the Empire continue to turn, come what may. Player characters are highly placed agents charged with regulating the military and called upon to resolve troublesome situations; part loyalty officer, part spy, part fixer. Players will experience the seedy underbelly of the Empire's elite, root out traitors and spies, suppress rebellion and iron out situations which would displease the Emperor. TIE Corps The TIE interceptor accompanies the Imperial Fleet wherever it goes, constituting its primary and often only defense against starfighter and bomber attack. Cheap and easy to produce, a pilot's life expectancy is not high - they are not afforded the luxuries of deflector shields or training - and expected to overwhelm superior craft and pilots with sheer weight of numbers. Player characters represent those pilots who, against all odds, have not merely survived the near-suicidal Imperial starfighter doctrine, but excelled. They are afforded a high degree of training and pilot the most advanced starfighters the Empire can afford. These pilots form elite squadrons, the vanguard of the TIE Corps and the last line of defense of their ship. While pilot positions are open, players in this branch may find it more difficult to interact with other sections of the Empire and of the wider game. We recommend that your concept has reasons to engage in RP beyond starfighter combat. Backgrounds & Motivations Look at your background as an opportunity to define the hows and why's of the traits you wish your character to have, to flesh out the archetype of your concept to a real person. What does your character want, what've they done to get it, are they proud of that? What remains un-done, and still stands in the way? How far are they willing to go, and at what point will they be willing to settle? To aid you in fleshing out your character, we have provided a brief questionnaire. You will be rewarded with advancement points to spend on your character's skills for filling it out and sending it to the Imperial Faction Head. Putting it all together Your next step is to contact an Imperial Recruiter. Whether you've now got yourself a character as well developed as any you'd find in a novel, or just a few ideas you'd like some input on, we'd be delighted to help you on your way to telling your adventures in the Star Wars galaxy. Examples Lets assume a player has created the character Maximilian Veers, and that the character is entering play in 0 ABY, around the events of A New Hope. Long before he ever became a Major-General. Bad Maximillan Veers was born 48 BBY the son of a middle-class working family on Denon in the Core Worlds. He joined the Imperial Army in the Assault Armor Division as a Lieutenant after graduating top of his class. He became a Major after executing a superior for incompetence while suppressing the natives of Culroon III to disastrous effect. He married and had a son, but his wife died of a rare disease during a family vacation. He became an authority on armoured warfare. He often guest-lectured and demonstrated prototypes at walker training courses where he came to the attention of Darth Vader in 0 ABY. This is a resume. And not a very good one! It tells us the character's name, date of birth, homeworld and current rank. And it takes far too long doing it. Imagine if this were more detailed about the events in question! You'd be digging around for ages for something relevant to roleplay! While these are useful landmarks to have in mind for a character, these factoids don't mean much of anything to other players and are unlikely to help in RP. The only two things we can tell about Veers as a person is his wife died (but so long ago that it'd be pretty esoteric knowledge, and fairly crass to bring it up!) and that he knows a lot about AT-ATs. Finally, a hook! '''Got a question about walkers? Ask Veers. Need to launch an armored assault on a rebel stronghold? Ask Veers.' ''Now if only his entire background had been that helpful... Good Veers is a consummate soldier. Having spent his entire adult life in the Imperial Army, his dedication only grew following the loss of his wife in XX BBY. Right away we know something about Veers - he's a veteran, dedicated soldier. We also know he's single (ladies...) and that when he's sad, he throws himself into his work. During his early career, Veers gained a reputation for the ruthless use of overwhelming force as both a political and military doctrine. His strategies are direct, simple and remarkably effective. Another line, another hook. Several, in fact. Want someone to back up your suggestion to simply blast the rebel scum to pieces and crush them under AT-AT treads? Veers will very likely agree with you! And he's likely to oppose convoluted, sneaky plans! Despite Veers' battlefield successes and his status as a leading expert on armored warfare, his career has stalled recently - he lacks the aristocratic connections to advance further up the chain of command and this frustrates him - he feels his talents are wasted. He hopes that the attention of Darth Vader will circumvent these obstacles and is keen to demonstrate his capabilities to the dark lord. And now we see some of his goals and obstacles. Veers wants to rise higher, but can't get any further on his own merits - he doesn't have friends in the right circles and he's either unwilling or unable to resolve that problem. His one chance is Darth Vader, so he's probably going to be very loyal to him. And he plans to distinguish himself through deeds, so will be eager to highlight his abilities.Category:Guides